Chuck E. Cheese's wants to be a place where adults can be adults

The people at Irving-based Chuck E. Cheese's think they know why more children aren't coming to their entertainment centers: The "parent veto." Kids, they think, would love to hang out and eat pizza with somebody in a giant rat costume, but parents don't want anything to do with the place.

It's not a crazy thought. Earlier this year, The Fiscal Times labeled Chuck E. Cheese's as "the worst fast food in America," saying, "This kid-friendly pizza joint with an arcade and animatronic show has the lowest rankings in eight of 10 categories among pizza chains. The only categories it didn't score the lowest in are atmosphere and reputation."

But Chuck E. Cheese's representatives think that those opinions are outdated, and that today's parents aren't basing their opinions on the restaurant of today; they're basing them on the restaurant of 20 years ago.

As an example, a public relations representative told me more than once that she has to keep reminding journalists that Chuck E. Cheese's doesn't have ball pits anymore. The company got rid of those in 1998.

CEC Entertainment's (the company that owns both Chuck E. Cheese's and Peter Piper Pizza) attempts to change that perception aren't new. For more than a year they've been revamping their menu to provide better food, they offer free WiFi and they'll even serve you beer.

They also make a big deal about the fact that they once beat Pizza Hut in a taste test. It's mentioned in both videos below, and they said it to me more than once while I was visiting their headquarters. They're clearly very proud of it.

Still, they're trying. Along with me and a small handful of other journalists, CEC brought in a group of moms and mommy bloggers (and their children) to try to entice them to spend more time at the restaurant. Here are some of the things they focused on:

Food

Chef Gregory Casale runs the test kitchen at CEC. During my visit he wore a baseball cap that said "Sauce Boss" and talked a lot about experimenting with gluten-free food and cooking with ancient grains.

He talked some about the foods that are already available in Chuck E. Cheese's locations nationwide as well as several options that were still being tested. Among those was a Philly cheese steak pizza, boneless chicken wings with a new honey mustard bourbon sauce, an Italian chicken sandwich on flatbread (which was spicier than I expected it to be, in a good way) and a potato salad made without mayonnaise.

I believe CEC when they say that all of these food options are a big step up from what was previously offered. While nothing blew me away (you won't be tricked into thinking you're at a fancy Italian restaurant, certainly), it was all perfectly acceptable as family food.

The Play Pass

When you think of Chuck E. Cheese's, you might think of tokens. Don't, because tokens are a thing of the past.

Now, Chuck E. Cheese's offers a "Play Pass," a card with an RFID chip that you use to play games. It's the same concept as the cards that some places (like Dave & Busters) use: You put money onto it, then you can play games until that money runs out.

And if your child does lose the card? The money on it can actually be tied to an account, so you can just get a new one.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Chuck E. Cheese's used bracelets instead of cards. Apparently that's something that CEC has looked into but isn't actually doing right now.

Hospitality (and millennial media)

You might expect to walk into Chuck E. Cheese's and see the restaurant's colorful mascots dancing old, rudimentary moves to ancient songs intended for children.

But if you walk into Chuck E. Cheese's today, you might see Chuck whip and nae nae.

It's a blatant attempt to get the attention of millennial parents, but it might work. You're probably less likely to be tired of hearing today's pop hits on the radio than you are hearing an old stable of children's songs on repeat.

The restaurant is also trying harder to be clean, and they now have a policy of wiping down all of their arcade machines every hour.